The End is Nigh

I have heard a lot of talk recently that our world is in crisis, and that “the end is nigh.” I have a sense that this is a lot of fear-mongering and marketing for a cause. But what if they are right?

On the one hand, haven’t people always felt that way? Isn’t this just God’s way of reminding us that our world could end today via a massive stroke or car accident? Shouldn’t we always be ready to face Jesus?

Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. Hebrews 4:7

On the other hand, what if it is true? What if God is warning us that these are the end times? What if He is just warning our country that it is in its end times? How do I respond to that? 

Does disaster befall, unless the Lord has done it? Surely the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secrets to his servants, the prophets. The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy? Amos 3:6-8

A few years back, billboards appeared around my town that proclaimed that Jesus was returning on thus and such a date. I must admit that I scoffed. After all, we all know that only the Father knows the times He has set (Acts 1:7). So I rolled my eyes and called him a fool. Guilty; see Matthew 5:22. What if God had given him that specific word and directed him (or her) to proclaim it? Maybe, like Jonah, they were pronouncing a judgement that wouldn’t happen. Maybe whomever God intended this message to reach repented. Who am I to scoff?

So what if the doomsday predictions are correct? What if our society collapses? What if there is a civil war? What if God unleashes the angels of war, disease, famine and death upon the earth? What if our lives become really, really hard? What, as a Christian, is my response?

The end of all things is near, therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. I Peter 4:7-9

Hospitality does not seem to be the plan of most “preppers,” unless they plan to share all that they are now hoarding. I grapple with what I would do if evildoers came to take what I have saved for myself and my family. Certainly we are called to care for our families. Certainly we are called to keep enough oil in our lamps (Matt. 25) and prepare for famine (Gen. 41). But Jesus also tells us not to store up earthly treasures, which thieves can steal. Jesus calls us to store up heavenly treasures instead. (Matt. 8:19-21)

Maybe the answer is to not put our faith in what we have stored. Perhaps I should not have faith that my government, the CDC, big agriculture, the marketplace, my IRA, or private gun ownership will be able to stem the tide of disaster if God has ordained it. Perhaps such a disaster instead gives us, as Christians, the opportunity to witness to a better Way. A way of love; a way of putting other’s need above our own (Phil. 2:3-4), a way of laying down our lives for our friends (John 15:13).

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to be my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their crosses and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 16:23-25

So yes, repent. The end may be nigh, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Today is the day to draw near to Jesus. Come what may, Jesus has shown us the way.

Lo, I am with you until the end of the age. Matthew 28:20

Happy New Year!

Betsy